Monday, May 25, 2009

Goodbye Mangoes.. I'll Miss you :(

Mangoes.. The best fruit ever in my opinion. Though I lovve living in India, I'm usually criticizing how backward it is in the matter of availability of good products used for baking. We don't even get any good brand of chocolate, I always have to beg people who are coming here from abroad to carry things for me. How I'd love to own a KitchenAid *sigh*That's why I'm very happy about mangoes, you get the best Alphonso mangoes over here :-) It's the one thing that we have, and people from other countries want :P

I've eaten mangoes in every possible way, and incorporated them into most of the things I baked in these past few months, as you can see with the trifle, and the cake with lemon curd. The past 2 months have been amazing because of them. This recipe was made as a send-off of sorts, to mangoes. The rains are almost here, and that's when we stop getting good mangoes.

I haven't tried making too many pies, so I thought it would a great way to practice making a pie crust, and also, make my last mango food. I used Sherry Yard's recipe, from her amazing book The Secrets of Baking. Though I love the book, this recipe didn't turn out too well, but I can't say for sure that it wasn't because of me. But all combined, the pie, with the lemon cream, and the reduced mango puree, was delicious. The lemon cream recipe is one I'm going to be using a lot more often, it was out of this world :-)

This dough can stay refrigerated for 3 days, and can frozen for upto 2 weeks.

I blind baked the mini tartelettes in the last picture for 7 minutes, and the 6 inch ones for 15-17 minutes. They were done perfectly.

I made a lemon cream to go with the pastry, from a great book Buffets and Receptions. Though I don't use the entire book, only the baking section, it is probably my most favourite book. It has recipes for literally EVERYTHING, albeit without too many pictures. It's great for anyone who knows the basics, as it provides adequate, but not too detailed instructions.

I added the cream the tarts, and topped one of them with chopped mangoes [you can top with any fruit, the flavor of the cream doesn't overwhelm it] . For the other, I used reduced mango puree [aamras in hindi]. All I did was heat 1 packet [500g] of mango puree in a saucepan until it became thick [about 15 minutes]. Just to be safe, I then added a teaspoon of cornstarch, and took off heat 2 minutes after that. On refrigeration, it became thick enough to be used as the topping for the tart. You could also use a mango [about 2] and process it, instead of the puree. If you choose to do this, make sure you strain to remove the threads.

Hi Avanika..first time here..nice blog you have..glad to see a fellow blogger from mumbai..m too from mumbai and just like u m too passionate about baking :) wish you all the best dear...will visit regularly now :)

I'm sorry that the mangoes are only there for such a short time. That's no fun at all! Meanwhile, this tart looks absolutely divine. You did a great job with it; it's a perfect celebration of the mango! Yum!

It really is, but I make do with what I get. :(About the pie, I'm now feeling better, because it was my first attempt at making a pie crust. The fact that it was edible and I didnt have to toss it in the bin was enough for me :)